1 Year Car-Free

I've been so busy the past week that I forgot to mention it was my 1 year anniversary of being car-free! For the most part, the year was what I expected. I saved more money that I thought I would (although my work increased the reimbursement for not driving to work as well). I've discovered countless small businesses in my neighborhood near home and work that I simply wasn't looking for in the past. I can now confidently rack up bike mileage in the double digits in a day without feeling like I was about to die. I've found beautiful little gardens and places to bike. I've still been able to make sure the recycling program continues at work (one of the last errands I did weekly with my car!) It's been good for the most part.

I had some difficulties until I learned what I needed to do to plan my transportation. My boyfriend was extremely helpful at times in filling in the holes with public transportation service gaps, getting places that are more difficult to reach without public transportation and helping carry larger things. I actually haven't driven at all since my car accident where my car and I parted ways. Granted I know my car-free transition was already most of the way there compared to some others - next month will be 4 years since I started riding the train to work, but taking that last step is scary in some ways. I had already flirted with the idea of getting rid of my car, but I still didn't know how to handle my pets, the recycling at work, my recycling at home and other thing. I managed to work around them all and purchased a new bike to help me out with getting to some of those places on my own (I still dream of biking to the Burbank airport at some point, only I doubt they have long term bicycle parking!) and only had 2 flats along the way :)





at a unknown intersection in the West Hills/Canoga Park area, 7/24/09

Summer Evenings

Near my apartment building, there is a somewhat abandoned, yet regularly used piece of land. Over the years, I've watched how people use the land and talked to some of those people. No one has ever said they liked how it is being used right now. The current plant coverage and accommodations brings many issues with it including trash, rats, homeless individuals, tagging and lack of necessary pathways. Pretty much everyone would like to see it in more of a park-like state friendly for people sitting, walking their dogs and possibly some community garden aspects. I've been trying to work with some of my neighborhood associations, but it seems to be a semi-slow process.

Next to this piece of land is another little strip of land that no one seems to pay attention to and no one claims to own. It pretty much consists of trash, dead plants, plants with giant burrs and dandelions.

For the past couple of weeks I have been trying to spend time outside dealing with these areas. On one hand, I just want it fixed and what better way than to do it myself. I use this land every day when walking to my destinations and it bothers me. I am sure the trash there only makes people see it as being ownerless.

The first evening I went out with a plastic grocery bag and went to work. After only a couple of minutes someone came up to me and asked if I was being paid to do this. In the conversation that followed I made a friend and found someone that was older, but excited to see someone doing something. He gave me some suggestions and encouragement and was excited to see what I could do. I ended up collecting probably 8 bags of trash that evening. I picked up bag after bag, easily recycled cans and bottles, paper of all sorts, plastic wrappers and other random plastic pieces.

A week later, the plants were already filled with trash again, but I held back and instead started focusing on the little, somewhat super abandoned land without anyone claiming it. I started intensely weeding it, getting deep at the roots of the plants and digging into the ground. I was surprised to find it's quite a few inches of rocks with some dirt.

I haven't made too much progress with that, but the process of digging in the soil, sifting it through my fingers and picking up things is somewhat soothing. My friend came out again this evening while I worked, excited as ever, wondering what I have in store. I guess he's been trying to get someone to do something with this land for a while, trying to find the owner, but no one wants to claim it. I managed to pick up some baby aloe plants on freecycle recently, so I'm thinking about adding some of those. I'm somewhat interested in the possible challenge of trying to fill the space with freecycle or gathered plant seeds/sprouts, but we'll see. In some ways I've started approaching this as a challenge to myself to see what I can do. While I always played in the dirt growing up and helped my mom and whatnot in the garden, I've never done something like this as an adult.

morning walk

7/10/09 - looking south to the Hollywood Hills while walking to the train station

Subway Adventures

This morning seemed pretty normal. I woke up, took care of my pets and plants and left for the train on time. The Red Line train arrived at Universal City station as expected. Somewhere along the way between Universal and Hollywood and Highland while I was enjoying music on my mp3 player, I heard the driver announcing something. I didn't think much of it as they frequently announce train stops and what train and direction you're riding in. A guy standing near me suddenly had a taken aback expression on his face, so I pulled off my headphones only to find out the announcement was over. We gradually slowed down, a horrible smell began permeating the air and then we stopped.

Everyone stood and sat in the train quietly as the driver announced he was going to see if he could repair the train. The air turned off an on as he ran up and down the side of the train along the subway tunnel walkway. When the air was off, the car was oddly quiet. Considering everyone was sitting there silently save for the occasional cough or sneeze and the quiet buzzing of people listening to music that's maybe a little too loud. At one point the guy that made the expression that first alerted me to the situation said "Why can't we go? I thought they said it was a power problem. The air is on."

After about 30 minutes, we got an announcement saying we would evacuate the train and walk to the next station or a cross walk. Although I could sense some people were starting to get anxious, this was suddenly getting more exciting. They gave us some general direction on only opening one door of each car and everyone exiting from the car, one car at a time. As soon as the announcement stopped, one woman got up from her seat and started walking towards the end of the car where I was standing and most everyone else on that end of the car followed.

While standing around trying to figure out what was going on, I noticed a stream of riders walking along the outside of the car. Someone asked what was going on because based on the evacuation announcement, we expected people to walk through the middle of each car to the front car and from there, exit through a single door onto the pathway, however the people walking outside of the car were walking toward the front of the train. People inside of the car I was in stood with their cameras flashing, taking pictures of the stream of people walking by and periodically stopping.

I heard some noise on the end of the train car with the driver area and some metro officers appeared and told us to travel through the middle of the train cars. 2 guys in front of my walked their bikes through, but I wondered how this would have worked with some of the people I've seen in wheelchairs in the past, as there were decent sized gaps between the doors on each car. It was an odd sensation to walk in a line through the middle of each train car (I think we went through 3 cars) while watching people travel along a somewhat dark path in a parallel line on the other side of the train windows.

Finally we got to the front of the train where more metro officers were standing and we had to exit the train and integrate into the line of people traveling on the walkway. Since I had just traveled through the train up until then, I have to admit I felt a little nervous as I stood in the tube shaped tunnel with the 2, maybe 2 1/2 foot wide walkway pressed against the left side and nothing on the right. It's somewhat surprisingly clean and empty outside of odd patterns all over the walls. Maybe every 20 feet along the walkway on the wall is a florescent light tube and along the entire way there is a railing. The floor was bare concrete and there was a straight drop to the tracks below. Just like walking along the train tracks in the station, but with a somewhat narrow walkway and less lighting.

A girl behind me said "I bet no one was expecting this today!" and another girl in front of me had out her video camera and was recording the whole walk. The walk was stop and go and occasionally I'd look back at the train and try to look ahead. I didn't realize that we were walking uphill until we were almost to the station and when I looked back to the train, it was suspended there shining it's crazy train light-eyes at us. I forgot to look for the little plaques telling you how many feet in either direction to the nearest station, but I think we probably walked between 600-800 feet before we walked down some steps and past a weird metal cage looking area that allowed you to see through to the train on the other side of the tracks and a giant marked area on the wall that said "DANGER DO NOT DRILL HIGH VOLTAGE" with giant yellow lines over it. We then walked up a few more stairs and we were at Hollywood and Highland on a jammed platform.

In all, the trip between Universal City and Hollywood and Highland took about an hour. I know some people were agitated with the delay because they were late, but in all I don't feel like it was a bad experience. In fact, I thought it was fun in some ways and outside of the horrible smell at the beginning (I didn't smell it when we walked through the trains) and a little bit of discomfort when the air was off on the train. I image the experience might have been a little confusing for people that didn't speak English as I only heard English announcements and no one did any sort of translations on the car I was on. Walking along the tunnel was exciting if not a little scary as well. Not that I'd want to do this every day or anything, but I felt reasonably safe throughout the process.

Book Review - The Organic Food Shopper's Guide

The Organic Food Shopper's Guide by Jeff Cox, a former editor for Organic Gardening Magazine is a straightforward book that gives one information on the basic components of a healthy organic diet. The book begins by explaining what it means for good to be considered organic. This includes an explanation of the wordings you might see on food labels in the U.S., how pesticides, compost, genetic engineered foods fit in with organics and some information on how grocery stores must handle organics.

The rest of the book is divided into 6 sections on vegetables, fruits, nuts/seeds/grains, herbs & spices, meat/fish/dairy/eggs and kitchen staples. Each has a similar structure in that foods in that category are organics in alphabetical order. Each food has it's own section with information including:
-when the food is in season
-notable varieties of the food
-how to pick out the best/ripe foods
-how to store and prepare the food
-major nutritional highlights
-complimentary foods/flavors
-general information on the food
-the "organic advantage"
-uses
-recipes featuring each ingredient

Some of the information in this book is truly interesting. I had been searching on information about eating wild fennel I see all the time while hiking and this book finally told me what parts were usable. Some of the organic advantages were interesting, but some of the reasons were a little weak and repetitive when reading from the beginning to the end. The end of the book includes a list of resources to buy organic varieties of the food, mostly through the internet.

Even for someone like me that's been visiting the local farmers market for years and cooks nearly every meal at home, there was some new information in this book for me on ingredients I just wasn't sure about. I'd recommend this book for anyone that is just learning to cook at home or becoming more interesting in whole food and organic food cooking. I don't know if I'd read this book from beginning to end, but it's a good reference book. I could see using it as a compliment to discovering new farmers market foods, especially here in California. This book is also a bit refreshing in that you don't feel as if there are hidden motives in this information.

Happy 4th of July!

SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT

PARTICULATE ADVISORY


Valid: Saturday, July 4 and Sunday, July 5, 2009

Air quality is likely to reach unhealthful levels in localized areas throughout the South Coast Air Basin and in the Coachella Valley, starting in the evening of July 4th and continuing through the morning of July 5th. Emissions from fireworks are expected to contribute to elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), which can reach the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups category, or higher, after the evening fireworks displays on Independence Day. The smoke and combustion products from fireworks add to the fine particles already present in the Basin that are primarily caused by motor vehicle emissions, as well as fugitive dust and industrial emissions.


Such is life in Southern California! This morning was beautiful bicycling weather with fewer cars than normal on the road. I didn't even mind when another biker came up next to me and biked with me for a few seconds -- enough time to say hi to one another and then continue on our own ways.

Valley Bikery

A few weeks ago I ran into a couple of people from the San Fernando Valley based biking group Valley Bikery at the Studio City Farmers Market. The group isn't based out of a specific location yet, but their focus is biking in the San Fernando Valley. They seem particularly interest in reaching out to people that might be new to various aspects of biking as a transportation method. I was super excited to see someone was doing something like this and signed up for their mailing list. I haven't made it to any events, but I am looking forward to it. Some of the things they mentioned are holding beginner or intermediate level bike rides and workshops with basic bicycle maintenance.

On Sunday July 5th and Sunday July 19th from 12pm to 4pm at Lake Balboa (right at the Lake), they are holding clinics on basic bike maintenance. If you don't feel comfortable biking to Lake Balboa from your home or can't fit your bike in your car, Lake Balboa is easily accessible from the Orange Line.

It seems like this group is fairly new, but I am excited about the possibilities!

Gardens in the City

I've now been living in an apartment without any outside space for 5 years. At first, I dealt with it, but my 5 inch wide windowsills have gradually been overgrown with plants. As the years have gone on, finding a place to garden has become more of a priority to me as I learn more about my food and take more interest in producing food on a more local level and see the benefit in putting time instead of just money into good food that can also benefit those around me. I currently grow chives, sage and have a few sprouted avocado pits on my windowsill.

I've looked into the Community Gardens in Los Angeles, but none are close enough to my apartment to be practical. I want to garden someplace I'll be every day, not someplace that is miles away (this matters, especially without a car). The other problem is that many community gardens in Los Angeles have extremely long wait lists. I've been eying a somewhat abandoned looking piece of land near my apartment building for years, wondering if it could be turned into a community garden. It's currently used by people walking their dogs, people walking to the nearby Metro station or for homeless people to sleep. The low covering bushes frequently collect trash and there are no trash cans nearby. Recently I ran into someone that could actually help turn this land into something more and have found additional people interested in the idea of fixing it up. The problem is that even if we could make it into somewhat of a community garden, I think it would be prone to theft and therefore better for less desirable things, like herbs. So I was super excited to find GrowFriend.org.

The GrowFriend site can be thought of as personal ads for the garden-minded. You can sign up as a land owner who needs help or is willing to let someone else grow things on your land or as a gardener, looking for some land to sow. When you sign up, you fill out a profile, detailing what you want to do or what you need. Once your profile is filled out, you can begin looking for others in your area and exchange information. The GrowFriend site offers a variety of guidelines helping you decide how to split costs and responsibilities with your fellow land owner and gardeners and to help maintain some of your privacy before jumping into things with someone else. The site is free to sign up and seems to be available to people anyplace. Right now there appears to be about 50 people signed up in the Los Angeles area.

It seems like this site still has a lot of room to grow, but I was excited to see gardening opportunities within a short bike ride of my home. I will still continue working on the community garden area near my apartment, but this is a really exciting solution to a common problem for potential gardeners like myself and many others living in apartment buildings and condos!

happy summer!

One thing I love about the summer in California are the fruits and veggies. It's hard to resist the beautiful and unique things that you can find at the farmers market and growing on trees available for public use. The foods come with delicious smells, unique textures and a rainbow colors. Some of the flavors are so intense and delicious there is no need to do anything else with the foods besides washing them. Biking to the Studio City farmers market early Sunday morning makes for an enjoyable beginning of the summer.




my take away this week: tomatoes, cucumber, lime, summer squash and a variety of pit fruit including apricots, pluots and a peach. most of it is organic, all of it is local. total spent: $4.

These are the things in your neighborhood

Sometime at the end of 2007/beginning 2008, when gas was crazy expensive, I realized I was only using my car for weekly errands, recycling and visiting friends. I already had been riding the train to work for a few years and did a bunch of errands in Pasadena, where I work, on foot. I was driving about 2000 miles a year. I realized how awesome it would be if I could actually do most of my errands on bike though. I had already walked the 4 miles round trip on Sunday mornings to the farmers market with some frequency. It was doable, but not always fun. The path was all along Ventura Blvd and in some places there are no sidewalks. My neighbor from New York that didn't own a car thought I was a little nuts for doing that. My friend and I walked from my apartment to his apartment in the middle of the San Fernando Valley and I realized I could walk and use my body to move myself much further than I had originally thought possible. So I decided I would buy a bike.

I struggled for months though, wondering where I would I store the bike. I wasn't allowed to put anything outside of a car in my apartment garage. I don't have a porch, utility room or hall in my 1 bedroom apartment and couldn't put heavy duty hardware in my walls. I didn't really have a solution to this problem, but I decided that I should start visiting the garage sales in my neighborhood and looking for a bike.

I realized how difficult and annoying it was to go to some garage sales in a car. I had to find parking on a street that generally had way more cars than normal. At one point, I found a bike, but didn't have enough cash on me. I went home to grab cash and as I managed to get my car in a parking spot, I saw the bike being placed in someone else's trunk. Grr. But I continued on and eventually came across a cheapish used bike that fit me (I'm kinda short). Almost instantly I loved the freedom that came with the bike. It didn't take long before I was able to do most of my weekend errands by bike

Now I'm to a point where I don't even have a car anymore. I bought a new bike when I realized my old bike was a little too cheap in some ways and not exactly the right size for me. I use the train a lot, I've taken way more buses than I did in the past and I still continue to walk a great deal. But I do enjoy biking the best. It's caused me to rethink where I am living and understand the area bit more. I am amazed at the distances I can travel while not even feeling tired afterward. Many of my friends now have bikes and will go out on rides. Some things are more difficult though, while others have become even easier. One of the things that has become easier is visiting the weekend garage sales in my neighborhood.

Simply due to the fact that I have a tendency to bike through more residential areas to get to my weekly errands, I'm already in the areas where the garage sales are. I don't even have to get off my bike to take a good look at what's available. I keep a mental inventory of things that I will need in the near future, but not immediately and keep my eyes open. It's awesome because I don't have to go to some special store to buy these things-- I just keep my eyes open where I already am going.

I don't buy a lot of furniture and other large items, but I generally don't need these items. If you really need that giant chest, it's worth talking to the sellers about holding it while you go get a car or find some other way to get it home. I recently bough a folding wooden chair that matched the 2 I already had at home from a previous thrift store visit. I always carry bungee cords in my backpack with me when biking, so I managed to strap the chair onto my bike rack with the legs of the chairs sticking out straight behind me. I'm sure I looked weird, but I made it home! I've found glass jars to store my bulk bin items, small gardening items, embroidery thread and an awesomely colored silk scarf for 25 cents! (ok, I really didn't actually need that, but I'm surprised at the number of ways I've found to use it!)

At garage sales I always keep an eye on my bike when I need to step away for a moment so that people don't think my bike's for sale. I must keep in mind whether I have enough space in my backpack or panniers to take home whatever I to buy. It's satisfying to know that this is one of the most local types of shopping I can do and I am buying reused things. I've had some fun moments too with people I'd never get a chance to interact with otherwise. One day a red crowned parrot appeared in my neighborhood. These parrots make me giddly like a small child when I see them in Pasadena, so I was excited to point it out to others at the garage sale and have a chance to talk with them about it. Freecycle is still great, but some things people are less likely to give away or you might be waiting for a while or need to travel longer than expected. Garage sales, especially on bike, can be incredibly efficient to visit, a fun way to explore your neighborhood and a super earth friendly activity.

NBC disappointment

Maybe it's just too late, but since I was awake, I decided to put on Conan tonight. I usually never watch "late night tv", but after hearing about the trip on the show to the 99 cent store I frequent (should I be embarrassed to admit that? They actually sell a fair number of organic products and are one of the closest "all purpose" stores near me outside of garage sales), I decided I'd watch out of curiosity. Anyway, it's frustrating to watch segments on NBC covering the topic of "what I need to know about living in LA" and the first thing that is discussed is that you will be driving a great deal. This is on NBC. I thought NBC was all about the "green image". Don't they tell me that I need to use compact fluorescent light bulbs and reusable bags to be green? Now they are telling me the only way around LA is in a car? I thought they wanted to build tons of building, partially to house this show, right on top of the Metro station I use every single day so people could use the trains! They want to bring thousands of extra cars and car trips to the places that pedestrians and bikers walk and bike adjacent to this train station as well. Argh. Like I said, maybe it's just too late for me, but this is rather disappointing.

walking on Cahuenga

april 2006.

on and on

A few days after getting hit by a driver of a Rav4, my friend is in stable condition in the ICU. Her known injuries include a shattered ankle, a broken femur (the strongest bone in the human body), a collapsed lung, major skin abrasions including areas where large chunks of skin are missing and multiple skull fractures. At the end of last week, her family requested people donate blood, if possible, in her name.

I'd never donated blood before. Through a combination of temporarily disqualifying myself with tattoos and piercings over the years and honestly being scared of giving blood, I'd never done it before. Summer is already a slow time of the year for donations and with a specific request for blood and realizing that any amount of discomfort and pain I would experience is dwarfed by my friend's state, I decided to go ahead and do it. I'm so glad I did it because donating blood wasn't half as bad as I was imaging in my head. I went along with so coworkers for moral support and made sure to eat a decent lunch beforehand and take advantage of their food and drink offers afterward. I felt a little lightheaded in the hours afterward, but I was fine biking 12 miles this morning to do errands, 2 days later. I think previous experiences with fasting blood tests mislead me as to how much actually being able to eat and drink before and afterward helps.

This week we should find out more about my friend's injuries and hopefully more people can visit her once she is out of the ICU. It's sad and difficult at times to see how one of those 30-second simple stories about a pedestrian or biker getting hit by a car online or on the news can become so drawn out when you actually experience it. It has caused me to think a lot more about how I am living without a car. I think at moments, emotionally, I think I might be doing the wrong thing. When I really think about the whole situation though, I realize I am still doing the right thing. Walking is a perfectly natural action that people should be able to do safely. It makes sense as a form of transportation, especially in Southern California. I've hesitated at times sharing these details, but I hope that others can understand how driving without being able to see "because of the sun" can have serious consequences. I want people to realize how powerful a car is when compared to a human and how quickly it can hurt someone else. There are things that can be done to fix some of these issues, but they take more change in thought and actions than what is being done now.

Close Encounters of the Unwanted Kind

Last night while walking in Pasadena, one of my coworkers was struck by a car. She is alive, but she's currently in the hospital, unconscious. She's one of my few walking pals at work (so many other people will whine and complain about the idea of walking a full mile during lunch and then go work out in a gym later on) and just a couple of weeks ago she finally sold her car.

Although there have been countless news stories recently of people being hit by cars and buses, bikers being struck and killed, her story, I suppose, wasn't sensational enough (only 1 person involved, she wasn't killed on site and there wasn't a bus involved) to make it to any of these avenues. It makes me pause and think a bit more about the true number of people getting injured in these types of accidents every day in LA, California, U.S. and the world. It's mindblowing. Then add on top of that the number of people being killed in offhand ways by cars, such as through air pollution that increases cardiovascular issues, and it's amazing that cars are used as frequently as they are.

From what I've read, there are things that car makers can do to make vehicles less harmful to pedestrians in accidents, but these are not standards or frequent.

As someone that has been walking all around Los Angeles for miles nearly every day for the past 4 to 5 years, I've had my fair share of "almost" accidents. I have walked through some signals so many times that I know when they will change when I hit the buttons, I know which ones have left turns, that people frequently blow through and to always be super careful next to the freeway and certain driveways that people simply can't see around well. I've been with another coworker when we both crossed the street, me in front, only to have a car get close enough to touch his body, but not to injure him. We had a crossing signal and there were no other cars in the intersection. The driver saw me, but somehow completely missed him. Another time a car got close enough for my hand to touch the hood when I instinctively stuck out my hand as the car turned a corner, completely ignoring me. I've almost been hit while on my bike as well and I find myself trying to not bike during certain hours when I know more cars are around. I don't like wearing a helmet, but I do it and have embroidered reflective patches for my bag.

I have already been frustrated with the number of accidents that have been popping up in the news. As a pedestrian and bicyclist I know that more needs to be done to both encourage these forms of transportation as well as make it more of a pleasant experience. New York has figured that out recently. Sometimes the things done here in LA are enough to drive me mad.

I want things to be better for myself. I want others to be able to walk as well. I want people to feel safe doing this perfectly natural thing, walking. It wasn't until I spent a large amount of time outside of a car that I realized how threatening some drivers and cars can be. As people slowly inch toward you in their car, anxious for you to get out of the way, it can be alarming. You must watch drivers because they can easily never look in your direction and just drive, completely unaware because they are just looking for cars. Despite laws on the books that make it illegal for people to hold their cell phone and talk, an extremely large number of people do this. Once you pay attention to cars with missing headlights and dead street lamps, you realize these things are not as rare as one might hope.

I do not know what I will do, but this has put a fire under my ass to want to do more. This morning I thought about the risk I take as a pedestrian every day, walking past the 101 freeway entrance across from Universal Studios and today I find out one of my coworkers and friend has been hurt in exactly this way. The things done to make Los Angeles a more walkable and bikeable city are not complete and viewed by the big picture. Major streets live Ventura Blvd don't even have sidewalks, bike lanes lead to no where. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Things to do!

Recent Bicycle recalls:
-Giant 2009 model TCR Advanced SL Fork
-Dahon and REI 2008 Novara Folding Bicycles
-REI 2005 Novara Trionfo Bicycles
-Specialized 2009 Cross Trail Comp, Myka HT Comp, Myka HT Elite, Rockhopper, Rockhopper Comp and Rockhopper Comp 29 Bicycles
-Specialized 2004 Roubaix Comp and Roubaix Pro Bicycles
-Electra 2009 Model Electra Bicycles with Front Trays
-Salsa 2007- 2008 Ala Carte, El Mariachi, Casseroll Triple, Casseroll Single and La Cruz Handlebar Stems Bicycles
-Cannondale 2008 Adventure 2, Adventure 3, Adventure 2 Feminine and Adventure 3 Feminine Bicycles
-Cannondale 2009 Six 5, Six 6, Six Carbon 5 and Six Carbon 6 Bicycles


Check this link periodically for new recalls!


The City of Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan is currently being released in pieces for public review. The current maps for the San Fernando Valley, Central/Westside and South LA/Harbor Area are available.
If you bike in LA or would like to bike in LA, but feel unsafe due to lack of bike lanes, it's worth taking some time to look at these maps. You can submit feedback by mail or email (jordann.turner@lacity.org or the address is on the website). The city needs to know what we need as bikers. We are trying to reduce traffic, reduce air pollution, get exercise, enjoy the outdoors of Los Angeles and get to know the city better, but we need help from the city. Take some time to care for the places you live, work and play and you can make it better for yourself and others!